The NW is gray and drizzly a lot, but I find that February and March are really long, hard months. The holidays are over, there is much going on, it is too cold to go outside and the weather really can get to you. I am always looking for little ways to entertain and brighten these days. Since we drink so much tea and coco, I thought I would make it a bit more special. I set up a little tray in my kitchen, I got a fun, cheery cup-cake towel at Target. I added our coco mix, tea, strainer, a mini-tea pot, sweetener, mini-marshmallows, a scoop, spoons and cups.

We have over 15 different types of tea. So each morning I set out a new tea and have a little tag in the bowl saying what tea it is. All day I keep a thermos filled with hot watter and I plan once a week to change a treat for the coco. Maybe candy canes, chopped chocolate, cinnamon, ect. It is inviting to see everything all set out and ready to go. A cheery spot on these not so cheery days.

Hot Chocolate Mix

I have looked at a lot of coco mixes but the problem with a lot of them is they use produces like chocolate drink mix, pudding mix or non-dairy creamer. These items have a lot of things in them I do not want to give to my family. So I decided to just keep it simple. Dried milk, coco powder, sweetener and a pinch of salt. Salt always makes it taste sweeter. I wish I could afford organic dried milk, but at this point I am still looking for an affordable option.